Tag: Chris Rees

Titan Fighting Championships held their thirty-third event last night (or early hours of the morning if you were watching in the UK), in Alabama, for their biggest event to date; whilst I would guarantee the majority of fans would have been looking at the Main Card event, for which had 3 Title fights by the way of former Bellator featherweight contender and Titan FC featherweight champion Desmond Green against Strikeforce vet and one-time UFC competitor Kurt Holobaugh, Pat Healy faced Kurt Kinser for the lightweight belt and Jon Madsen faced Chase Gormley for the heavyweight title belt.

I can assure you, it would be the UK fans who were more interested in the welsh super star Brett ‘The Pikey’ Johns, who was facing Walel Watson for the Vacant Bantamweight Title which was taking place on the aired portion of the Prelim Card.

Brett Johns and his Team after winning The Bantamweight Championship Belt at Titan FC 33

The non-title matchup that opened up the main card was TUF 18’s Cody Bollinger against New York prospect Andre Harrison in the featherweight division.

Ffion Eira Davies is a name that should firmly be on everyone’s lips in the world of MMA. If you have not heard of this bright, talented,upcoming, future star, then please let me introduce you to her.

Making her second amateur MMA appearance on Saturday, February 21st at UIC14, GL1, Gloucester. The 20-year-old from Wales, who trains out of Chris Rees Academy in Swansea is no stranger when it comes to competition, having been competing in Judo since age 9 and BJJ for the last 18 months.

I managed to speak with Ffion to find out more about her, her achievements in the world of Judo and BJJ, MMA and Ronda Rousey.

You maybe ‘new’ on the MMA scene but you’re not on the BJJ scene. Can you talk me through all your achievements please.

I started BJJ about a year and a half ago now, originally just as a hobby. It’s quite funny because I always hated groundwork in judo and avoided it at all costs! But I ended up falling in love with it, and since then I’ve won the British gi and no gi, Paris gi and no gi, the Welsh gi and no gi, NAGA at my own weight and the absolute (blue and purple belt) and most recently the European championships in Portugal all at blue belt. So far I’ve not lost a BJJ match.

Not only contempt in BJJ, you started out in Judo; at what age did you start training in Judo, then competing? What achievements have you achieved in the world of Judo?

I started judo when I was about 9 years old, and started competing 3 months later. I won the Welsh a few times and the British twice as a Cadet/Junior. I trained full-time for a year in Sophia Gardens with the Welsh National Coach Craig Ewers, but I noticed my passion for judo was dwindling after so many years of competing and decided I wanted something fresh. That’s when I found BJJ which led me to MMA.

You train out of Chris Rees Academy who trains many up and coming champion MMA athletes, along with arguably one of the best Bantamweights Wales have seen in a long time, Brett Johns, who also comes from a judo background and who also was the Cage Warriors World Bantamweight Champion. How does it feel to train with another high level Judoka who has made the transition into MMA?

It’s quite funny because one of the main reasons I started MMA was because of Brett! We were in the same comprehensive school, he was in my brothers year, and we also did judo together growing up! I saw his posts on Facebook about MMA and I was amazed by it, at the same time Ronda Rousey had become big on the scene and I saw that the transition from a judo background would be pretty ideal for me! It’s amazing to have such a high level fighter as a teammate and friend, it’s very motivating. I’m looking forward to him claiming another world title!

Was it always the ‘plan’ to make the transition to MMA, having had the Judo and BJJ background, or was it something that just progressed organically?

No not really, BJJ and MMA were supposed to be fitness hobbies. But I’m hugely competitive and couldn’t resist competing in the end!

Ffion Davies first amateur MMA fight

Are there any other disciplines you are quite well versed in? Was you already doing Kickboxing, K1, Muay Thai, Karate etc whilst you were competing at Judo/BJJ?

Nope, I started learning striking in the MMA class, and have taken so many punches to the face it’s hilarious. Chris (my coach) then arranged for me to start doing pad work with Sam Thomas who’s one of the Thai boxing coaches at the academy. He’s really helped me a lot with my striking the past few weeks and invested a lot of time in helping me. I’m extremely grateful to him and all my teammates.

You finally had you’re first amateur MMA fight at SnA for which you won via Kimura Keylock in the first round. How did that finally feel to get that first MMA fight out the way with all the false starts you’ve had previously due to scheduled fights being cancelled through opponents being injured?

It’s been very frustrating the past few months because of pull outs. If you don’t want to fight don’t sign up to it, amateur is all about gaining experience whether you win or lose. When I finally did get to fight on SnA I was ecstatic; especially against a good opponent who I knew wouldn’t pull out due to ‘injury’. Jade was a decorated fighter who I knew wouldn’t pull out as she was confident in her abilities so it made it all the more nerve-racking. There’s no other feeling like fighting in the cage and I want as many fights as I can get!

Can you talk me through the experience you finally felt achieving your first amateur MMA fight? Was it any different to what you had ‘thought’ it would be like? Once at the venue knowing the crowds are there, walking out to the cage and into the cage and of course the fight itself.

I loved every minute of fighting, but the nerves are like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I spewed the day before and a few times on the day of the fight due to nerves, I’ve never been that bad before! Then in the last half hour before the fight everything changed and I became this aggressive psycho who just couldn’t wait to get in the cage! And then after the win I felt on top of the world, there’s really nothing else like it.

You’re competing on UIC 14 at GL1, Gloucester, this Saturday, February 21st in your 2nd amateur MMA fight. How are you feeling this time?

I feel just as nervous, but also excited. I have more self belief this time round and I’ve been training hard.

You’re facing the UIC K1 Flyweight Champion Laura Handy, do you know anything about your opponent? do you watch your opponents fight video’s or do you leave that to your coach/team and you take their instruction in what you need to focus on?

Yeah I’ve had a look at a few of her fights, but it’s always down to what my coach Chris wants me to do. He has so much experience in coaching that I know he knows what’s best for me and so I put my trust in him to decide! At first that was hard as I’m stubborn, but after so many grappling comps where I’ve followed his instructions and won that stubbornness quickly went away!

Ffion Davies first amateur MMA fight

This is a classic ‘striker vs grappler’ fight and it’s fair to say with Laura being a K1 Champion and yourself a BJJ champion, for the fan watching this is a great match-up made by Paul Sutherland. Where do you see the fight going yourself?

Naturally were both going to want to go where we feel our strongest. I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to round-up my game. Obviously we are both going to imagine ourselves winning, nobody steps into the cage expecting to lose. I’ll do my best, and she will do her best, and whoever is the better fighter will win.

Has anybody ever referenced you to ‘Ronda Rousey’ at all with your Judo background and your Arm bar submissions in BJJ along with your sleek ground game?

Chris says I have a moody face like her! I get where it could come from but not really.. We both did judo but she was Olympic standard whereas I was very very far away from that standard!

Is there any sponsors or anyone you would like to thank for this fight?

Tatami Fightwear for providing me with free BJJ kit! And although obviously they aren’t sponsors but they buy me snacks and give me lifts, I’d like to thank my teammates, coaches and family!

I arrived at Newport’s Leisure Centre with anticipation having always had Pain Pit events scheduled in my diary and now I had no reason not to go and the timing was exactly right.

The Opening fight of the night in the Amateur Level 3 Rules (No Headshots) (2 x 3mins) saw Welterweights Mark Turnville ( Trojan Cheltenham) against Jack ‘The Tank’ Shore (Tillery Combat) who seemed to be a crowd favourite here, Turnville opened up with some good leg kicks, whilst Shore went in for the clinch position, knowing exactly he wanted this on the ground fast, Turnville managed to get a big body slam to Shore who kept his composure attempting to secure a Triangle only for Turnville to be saved by the Bell, the 2nd rnd was pretty much the same as the 1st with a dominant Shore maintaining Top position & control with good body shots & another triangle attempt even taking Turnville’s back in the final seconds. Winner by UD Jack ‘The Tank’ Shore

In the 2nd fight of the night we saw the Light Heavyweights Sam Cousins from Weston-Super-Mare (Team Savage) against Jamie Curtis (Tillery Combat)

Sam Cousins starts the action by getting the early takedown & into top position for most of the 1st rnd action, until Jamie Curtis manages to get back to his feet both men are standing. Cousins is throwing low kicks & Curtis is catching most of them, Cousins gets another takedown in rnd 2 with both men very game in gaining control on the floor, Cousins manages to get Curtis into a Rear Naked Choke for the last 15 seconds of this fight and he hung on in their as the bell went. Winner by UD Sam Cousins

Both men come out fast & trading punches & kicks McLeod gets the early takedown & a guillotine attempt, Hamer manages to get out, both men back to standing & trading punches, McLeod clips Hamer sending him to the floor, McLeod seizing the moment attempts a armbar on Hamer who manages to hold on till end of the rnd. Start of rnd 2 McLeod gets Hamer with a great inside leg kick which sends him to the ground, McLeod again struggles to gain top position which now sees him on his back setting up a triangle, Hamer submits Winner McLeod 2.15 rnd 2 Triangle Choke

Fourth fight of the night and were on to Amateur Level 2 (Headshots Standing Only) ( 3×3 mins)

And the atmosphere was electric to what appeared to be a sold out Newport Leisure Centre again I can see why Pain Pit was living up to its reputation and we were only on the 4th fight of the night.

It was a great start by both guys, fast paced both exchanging shots with Owens taking control in the first part of the action, Legge soon got to work on the ground but decided to let Owens back up to his feet with both men exchanging blows as it’s nearing the end of rnd 1 Legge gets Owens with a good Right Hook, bell goes. As we start rnd 2 Legge took Owens straight to the ground looking to take him out with a Triangle choke & Owens Tapped Winner Legge 1.06 rnd 2 Triangle Choke

Both men come out fast but its Griffiths who is pushing forward both men are exchanging kicks & punches, Magourlic takes it to the floor but its Griffiths who gets Magourlic in a Head & Arm Choke Winner Griffiths 2.57 Rnd 1 Head & Arm Choke

Sixth Fight is a Lightweight fight between Paul Rodgers (Chris Rees) against Thomas James (Savage MMA)

Thomas James wastes no time & goes straight in & gets a takedown, gains top position, Paul Rodgers has a great technical defensive game from his back as he tries for a armbar then triangle from below, Rodgers technical skills are showing through in this fight and its Rodgers who gets the Kimura Winner Rodger 2.45 rnd 1 Kimura

Seventh fight & I knew as soon as I saw these fighters it would go the distance, let’s call it a gut instinct I have! Its Light Heavyweight time and we have Gareth Stacey (NMMA) against Simas Norkus (Brotherhood MMA)

Norkus gets the Takedown just where you would want this fight to go if you were a former European & US Wrestling Champ! Stacey is working hard to stop Norkus passing his guard, Stacey does point out to the ref which at this point is right in front of me Norkus is holding onto his glove & pulling it back, so is warned lightly of this, this fight is staying as expected on the floor, Norkus tries a knee bar, which Stacey looks to ref & points out is illegal, Stacey capitalizes on this & gets Norkus on his back if only for a few seconds, Stacey is back to being on his back but bar no means is this fight boring, or very one-sided, Stacey is doing a very good job of keeping Norkus of gaining the wrist control he is looking for by shrimping #101 #basics, this fight goes from strength to strength with Norkus being dominant though out even locking in a RNC in rnd 2 but Stacey hung on as the bell went, great display of technical skills from both men in this fight. Winner UD Simas Norkus

The Eighth fight was in the Lightweight division and was crowd pleaser , sporting a green Mohawk Jason “Grasshopper”Jenkins (Falcons) who entrance alone tore the roof of the leisure centre against Sean Meany (Chris Rees)

Meany came out & got the first takedown early but it was Jenkins showing dominant skills, control & body shots for the rest of the 1st rnd, the 2nd rnd Jenkins goes for a takedown but Meany sprawls, Jenkins still gets Meany where he wants him on the ground , a nice axe kick followed by the famous “Grasshopper” move allowed Jenkins to get Meany in a Gulliotine choke Winner Jenkins 1.12 Rnd 2 Guillotine Choke

Nineth Fight of the night we move onto the Unified Amateur Rules (3x3mins)

This has the crowd on their feet as Ryan Marshall’s entrance music is beginning to be played which is ironically is a sample of a Eminem track – business, (If you haven’t heard it look it up on YouTube then you will know where I’m coming from) you can now tell this is a packed venue with a great atmosphere.

Stockdale gets this fight underway with some great knees & Marshall exchanges with some shots of his own, Stockdale gets the early takedown but not for long, both men on their feet but this time its Marshall who got the Takedown & gets top position with some vicious GnP, Stockdale doing well to defend Marshall off in the 1st rnd. We go into the 2nd rnd Marshall gets the takedown & takes top position Stockdale defends really well & gains Top position raining blows down on Marshall, not lasting for long as Marshall gains top position; this is a battle of who really wants it the most; it ends up against the fence with both men standing, Marshall gets a great Big Body slam & top position but again not for long as Stockdale then gains top position, as we enter the final rnd Stockdale opens up with great leg kicks & gets a takedown but blink again & Marshall is in Top Position this is a real contender for #FOTN in my books both men are going toe-toe & ground to ground with one another, Marshall lets Stockdale get back to his feet (we know Ryan Marshall has a great pedigree in Boxing skills & this is where he likes its best) not taking nothing at all away from Stockdale, as Stockdale is back to his feet Marshall’s corner is shouting at him to get another takedown – & that’s what happened. Winner UD Ryan Marshall #FOTN for me.

Fight Ten sees us back in the Featherweight division Daryl Grant from Sidmouth (Lionsden) against Josh Reed (Tillery Combat)

Grant comes out with strong Leg kicks & Reed answers with strong Punches, Reed takes this to the ground with a great text-book Guillotine Winner Josh Reed 0.52 Rnd 1 Guillotine Choke #SUB of the night for me

Fight Eleven Middleweight Division between Will Davies (Chris Davies) and Lenny Benskin (Brotherhood MMA) Now this one I was particularly looking forward too, I had heard on the grapevine there had been a bit of bad blood between these two guys so I was hoping for them to leave it all in the cage tonight & boy I wasn’t disappointed.

There was a touch of gloves of some sorts to start with but Will Davies was very sneaky & went straight from there a bit too quick – sneaky! Davies was straight in trading toe – toe & got a big slamming takedown, but Benskin was having none of it, turned it round & ended on top position, Benskin let Davies stand as this is where Benskin likes to do more damage & to dish punishment at its best, he comes in with a superman punch up against the fence which takes Davies to the floor from there Benskin is raining blow after blow until referee Mark Woodard stepped in & stops the fight Winner Lenny Benskin 1.52 Rnd 1 G’n’P

Fight twelve were now at the PRO fights first in the Light Weight Division

Dave Addicott (DOW) against Kyle Prosser (Tillery Combat) Addicott goes straight in with leg kicks whilst Prosser goes to sweep Addicott’s leg to go for a takedown, Prosser is on bottom position but don’t let this fool you, he is very dominant & active going for a triangle & armbar attempt which fails then he is raining hard elbows to Addicotts middle of his head which I can hear from where I am sat, Prosser goes for another triangle attempt but Addicott breaks full guard, Prosser still raining hard elbows & dominating from back position. Rnd 2nd & Addicott pushes forward, Addicott gets the takedown and Prosser doing text-book defending from his back and attempts yet another triangle but unsuccessful, Addicott is doing all he can in the meantime unleashing some blows to Prosser, but Prosser defending well. We enter the last rnd both men are toe – toe trading blows, Addicott catches Prosser with a straight right to cause a devastating split across his left eye, referee Mark Woodard steps in & gets the Medics to look at the cut, the Medics say the fight cannot go on, this is unfortunate No-one wants to win by a Dr Stoppage in this Game & on my cards I had Prosser winning 2 rnds up! Winner Dave Addicott 1.18 Rnd 3 DR Stoppage

Fight thirteen in the Welterweight division with Nottingham’s up and coming Max Cotton (RAW) against Owain Parry (Tillery Combat)

Both Men come out ready to trade toe-to-toe, Parry comes out with a Spinning Back fist that misses, the fast Cotton catches Parry with a right cross which floors him, Cotton isn’t stopping there though and he goes to carry on until the Referee Mark Woodard steps in Winner Max Cotton 0.23 secs rnd 1 TKO #KO of the night for me.

Fight fourteen of the night is a Lightweight Title Fight between Jamie Rogers (DOW) against Marc ‘suplex’ Allen from Cheltenham (Trojan)

Both Men came out fast Rogers seemed to push the pace having Allen up against the cage which seemed where he liked the fight to be; he got Allen in a tight Guillotine Choke for over a good minute, but Allen was standing his ground with good defensive work & not giving in & clearly taking instructions from his corner who I could hear from where I was sat, although with no action happening referee Mark Woodard urged the fighters to do some work, Allen capitalized on this and managed to sink in a tight RNC which forced Rogers to tap with 9 secs left in the 1st rnd. Winner Marc Allen 4.51 Rnd 1 RNC NEW Pain Pit Light Weight Title

The Main Event was for the Bantamweight Title Brett ‘Pikey’ Johns ( Chris Rees) against Joe’ Orrible’ Orrey (Tillery Combat)

Both Men come out exchanging punches & its Orrey who is pushing the pace to start with, Johns gets the early takedown and as we know this is where he loves to be & is comfortable at his best, rolling around, with his awesome technical skills from his Judo background, this could be anyone’s fight the way it is going back and forth for control Orrey gets top position and lands some real nasty horrible elbows this is obviously where his nickname comes in, finally Johns goes for a armbar attempt & gets it, it’s all too much for Orrey who is quite emotional right in front of me. Winner Brett Johns 3.59 Rnd 1 Armbar New Pain Pit Bantamweight Title